(Bijari Records)

Azul is the terrific recording debut of San Francisco-based pianist and composer Anne Sajdera. The project, co-produced with guitarist Ray Obiedo, has a wonderful melodic feel. Sajdera is joined on the effort by members of her trio, which include Gary Brown on bass and Paul van Wageningen on drums, both of whom are a stellar complement to the pianist. Joining the unit on several tunes are Michael Spiro on percussion and Phil Thompson takes the drumming chair on two of the album’s tracks. The effort is made even more special by the appearance of the legendary percussionist Airto Moreira on a number of tunes. Sajdera is a gifted composer, penning a number of tunes on the album, which blended nicely with reworked bows to Wayne Shorter, Egberto Gismonti and Ivan Lins. The commendable music choices make this artist’s debut a great pleasure to hear.